1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cooling mechanisms and more particularly to an apparatus for cooling high-density integrated circuit packages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the electronics industry in general, and in the computer arts in particular, one design objective for some time now has been aimed at increasing operating speeds and decreasing unit sizes. One of the major factors which contributed significantly to this design objective is, of course, the integrated circuit chip, or dice as it is sometimes referred to in the industry. Initially, a single dice was mounted in a suitable package, such as a dual-in-line package, and such packages are in common use. However, the trend today is for mounting a plurality of dice in a single package to increase operating speeds by reducing the distances that signals must travel, and also reduce the spaces occupied by the individual dice packaging technique.
Significant gains were made when plural dice were mounted on a two-sided substrate and encapsulated in what is known as a JEDEC packages. In those packages, electrical connections between the plural dice are made within the encapsulating package, and electrical contacts are provided about the package periphery for connection with other components of the overall system. The limiting factor of these JEDEC packaging arrangements is the space available on the opposite sides of the substrate for connecting the dice together.
The most recent development in this field is the use of a multi-layer substrate which significantly increases the space available for internal connections. In particular, one package developed by I.B.M. Corporation has successfully mounted 118 dice on a multi-layer ceramic substrate having 33 layers. This package is 90 MM square and has an array of 361 pins depending from the bottom surface of the multi-layer substrate. The pins are soldered into a circuit board which electrically connects the individual pins to the proper components of the overall system.
While this new dice packaging has achieved the desired increased operating speeds, and reduced the overall size, the ultra-high packaging density has created problems relating to heat dissipation. Cooling by radiation into the atmosphere is completely out of the question, and the use of blowers for moving relatively high velocity air across the packages is inadequate, and liquid cooling systems are being used.
Many of the earlier developed liquid cooling systems, some were developed for use with the JEDEC packages, are inadequate for use with the newly developed multi-layer packaging technology due to insufficient heat transfer between the plural dice and the liquid coolant, and their inability to carry away a sufficient amount of the heat generated by the large numbers of dice.
The cooling system developed by the I.B.M. Corporation for use with the hereinbefore described multi-layer package, includes intricate metal castings, one of which contains the package in a helium filled environment and is provided with 118 bores, each containing a spring loaded piston. Each of these pistons is in contact with a different one of the dice to carry heat away from the dice through the piston, spring, and metal of the casting. Another metal casting is carried atop the piston casting to provide a chilled coolant chamber, which absorbs heat from the lower casting. This cooling apparatus is an exceptionally complex and costly mechanism, occupies a considerable amount of space, and its thermal transfer efficiency is questionable due to the plural heat conductors and interfacing gaps which are encountered by heat migrating from the dice through the pistons, through the springs, through the metal top wall of the lower casting, through the metal lower wall of the top casting and ultimately to the circulating coolant.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved apparatus for cooling high-density integrated circuit packages which overcomes some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.